Dante Aviles-Santos and Angel Sanchez Named DIII Football All-Region First Team

DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Two members of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth football team were named to the D3Football.com All-Region I teams this afternoon, when sophomore quarterback Dante Aviles-Santos and classmate wide receiver Angel Sanchez both earned first-team honors.  This is the first time two student-athletes represented the Corsairs on the top-team and just the third first-team selection in UMass Dartmouth program history.  

Pat Sullivan '17 was the other first-team selection in program history, representing UMass Dartmouth as an offensive tackle.  A total of seven Corsairs have been selected to the All-Region teams since the premier Division III college football publication began honoring regional teams in 2005.

Dante Aviles-Santos
From Cumberland, R.I., Aviles-Santos broke onto the scene last season by winning the MASCAC Offensive Rookie of the Year award, Aviles-Santos followed up with an even more impressive season to win the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year, in just his second full season. He was also honored by the New England Football Writers Association (NEFW) as the Season Gold Helmet Award Winner. This award is given to the most valuable player in Division II or III. Aviles-Santos completed 219 of 362 passes (.605), throwing for 3,189 yards and 28 touchdowns. 
 
Aviles-Santos is ranked eighth in the nation in passing yards and is tied for 16th in total touchdown passes. He is 27th in completions per game with 19.9 and 24th in yards per pass attempt at 8.81. He also impacted games with his legs, rushing for 290 yards on the season and tallying three rushing touchdowns. 

Aviles-Santos threw for a season-high 362 yards against Anna Maria (Sept. 10), and passed for over 300 yards in seven of the 11 games this season. He also put together a six passing-touchdown performance against WestConn (Sept. 30).

Aviles-Santos broke UMass Dartmouth's single-season records for passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, passing yards per game, average yards per pass and total offense. For his career, Aviles-Santos has 5,386 passing yards and 53 touchdown passes. He needs just 91 yards to break the program's all-time passing yard record and four touchdowns to set the program record in career passing touchdowns.
 
 
Angel Sanchez
The sophomore wide receiver of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth football team was named to the New England Football Writers Association (NEFW) Division II/III All-New England Team earlier this season. Now he adds to his resume by being named DIII Football All-Region First Team.

The transfer from Providence, R.I. ended the season as second in the nation in receiving yards per game (131.2) and seventh in total receiving yards (1,181) with eight touchdowns. Sanchez put up over 100-yards receiving in seven games this season, including 191 yards and a touchdown at Mass. Maritime (Oct. 6). He hauled in two receiving touchdowns twice against Framingham State (Sept. 17) and at Plymouth State (Nov. 11). 
 
Sanchez set the UMass Dartmouth single-season record in total receiving yards and receiving yards per game in 2022.
 
 
Led by Aviles-Santos and Sanchez, UMass Dartmouth was the 18th ranked scoring offense in Division III during the 2022 season with an average of 40.1 points per game. The Corsairs were third in the nation in total offense, averaging 532 yards per game.

Under the direction of Head Coach Mark Robichaud, UMass Dartmouth produced the second most wins in program history this season with an overall record of 9-2.  The Corsairs captured the program's first MASCAC title with an undefeated 7-0 mark and advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship for the second time (2002).